In this speech by A. W. Clausen, President of the World Bank and International Finance Corporation, he reconfirms the Bank's commitment to do all that it can to help the middle-income member countries with severe debt problems to regain sustained, noninflationary economic growth with social...

Kenya's business environment has been weakening over recent years and this has limited the private sector's ability to grow, create jobs, and contribute to economic development. Competitive domestic markets are necessary to boost Kenya's competitiveness. There are two pillars that sustain...

While the focus has been on the recent change in government in Egypt, five countries in the Middle East and North Africa Region, including Egypt, Tunisia, Lebanon, Jordan and Iran are facing a growth slowdown, rising fiscal deficits and debt, and high unemployment and inflation. Continued...

Ongoing regional tensions, together with a challenging (albeit slightly improving) external environment, have hit the economies of the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region hard. Economic growth is slowing, fiscal buffers are depleting, unemployment is rising, and inflation is mounting in...

The report highlights the important links between good governance on a level legal and regulatory playing field, and the ability of investment to stimulate growth. Investment in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region has been strong over the last two decades in comparison with Latin...

Part I of this report discusses the short- and medium-term growth prospects for countries in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA). The region is expected to grow at a subdued rate of 0.6 percent in 2019, rising to 2.6 percent in 2020 and 2.9 percent in 2021. The growth forecast for 2019 is...